Terry Gross

Retired cop, and former head of the Queen's District Attorney's squad, Remo Franceschini spent 35 years keeping track of and busting organized crime in New York City. Franceschini figured out the family structure of the mafia, keeping a "Wall of Fame" family tree of photos and names of mobsters. Early on he predicted the rise of John Gotti, who became known as the "Teflon Don." Franceschini personally wire-tapped Gotti's headquarters, which led to indictments.

Professional New York house cleaner and NPR commentator, David Sedaris. Sedaris occasionally reads from his diaries on NPR; he started this year around Christmas time, when he recounted tales of being a Macy's elf named Crumpet during the holiday season. Other pieces have covered life with window hangers, the world of soap operas, and smoking on a bench in Central Park with a non-smoker. He's recently signed with Little, Brown for a book of short stories and a novel.

Travel author and novelist Paul Theroux. In a new issue of the Conde Nast Traveler magazine --July 1993-- Theroux recounts the abundant ailments and diseases he's contracted during his thirty years of world travel. Luckily, "Kuru" isn't one of them: a Papua New Guinea affliction of the nervous system where one goes mad, then dies trembling. The only way to catch it is after eating human brains.

Journalist and professor Randall Balmer. He hosted the PBS series, "Mine Eyes Have Seen the Glory: A Journey into the Evangelical Subculture in America," which aired in May. Balmer is Associate Professor of Religion at Barnard College, Columbia University.

Betsy Lieberman, Executive Director of AIDS Housing of Washington which has built the country's first nursing home designed for people dying of AIDS. It's called the Bailey-Boushay House. The House also offers adult day-care services and activities for people with AIDS. The House has been in operation for a little over a year now. Since then more than 130 people have died there. A new book about the project has been published, "Breaking New Ground: Developing Innovative AIDS Care Residences." (published by AIDS Housing of Washington, Original Trade Paperback).

The man known as "the King of the Surf Guitar," Dick Dale. He launched surf rock in 1960 with his band, the Deltones. He described the surf sound in a 1963 article as "a heavy staccato sound on the low-key guitar strings, with a heavy throbbing beat--like thunder, or waves breaking over you." It's also played loud and with plenty of reverb. Dale defined the California sound, and influenced The Ventures, The Beachboys, and Jan and Dean. He also influenced later groups like Sonic Youth.

U.S. Congressman Barney Frank, Democratic Representative from Massachusetts, and one of two openly-gay members of Congress. He's been lobbying for lifting the ban on gays and lesbians in the military. Terry will talk with him about President Clinton's announcement last week about gays and lesbians in the military. (In a recent Washington Post op-ed piece, Frank defends Clinton, blaming, instead, those allied against lifting the ban.)

Chubby Checker got the credit for "The Twist," but the real credit goes to Hank Ballard who wrote the song and recorded it first (with the Midnighters') in 1958. Balalrd was a notorious figure in the early days of rhythm and blues. His song "Work with me Annie," was considered too lewd for many stations to play. Anyway, Ballard gets the credit for "The Twist," in a new documentary, "Twist" by film maker Ron Mann. Terry talks with both Hank Ballard and Ron Mann.

First-time film-maker Tiana (the Americanization of the name Thi Thanh Nga) has made a personal documentary tracing her 1988 journey back to Vietnam, where she was born: "From Hollywood to Hanoi." Her father was the head of press relations for the South Vietnamese government, and she enjoyed a privileged childhood. But her father moved the family to the United States just before the fall of Saigon. Tiana was raised in California from the age of three and became an actress in low-budget exploitation films.

Editor of the editorial page at the Des Moines Register, Dennis Ryerson. Ryerson and the staff are putting out the paper during the floods, without running water or electricity; they work in daylight with pencils and typewriters. Ryerson was in the unique position to report on the near fistfight between the Des Moines mayor and its city council over the right time to turn on the city's water supply.